The 2018–19 Atlanta Hawks season is the team's 69th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the 51st in Atlanta. On April 25, 2018, the Hawks and Mike Budenholzer had mutually agreed to part ways.[1] On May 11, 2018, the Hawks hired Lloyd Pierce as head coach.[2] Four days later, the Hawks would win the #3 pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, as well as enter draft night with four total draft picks over a month later in June.

During the offseason, the Hawks signed veteran Vince Carter, the 8th team he has played for in his 20-year career.[3] Carter signed with the Hawks despite massive speculation he would make a return to his two original teams; the Toronto Raptors (where Carter played his first 7 seasons in) or the Golden State Warriors (whom drafted Carter in 1998).

Entering draft night, the Hawks would have four draft picks, three of which being in the first round. Their first of three first round picks rose up into the Top 3 of the NBA Draft after tying the Dallas Mavericks with the third-worst record of the season the previous season. The next first round pick was had by trading Adreian Payne to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for their lottery-protected first round pick, which barely conveyed to them that season. After that, their last first round pick was had by trading with the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets, acquiring the Houston Rockets' first round pick from this season in relation to the Clippers' blockbuster trade in their removal of Chris Paul, as well as Jamal Crawford, Diamond Stone, and cash considerations from the Clippers and giving up the Washington Wizards' 2019 second round pick to Denver. Finally, their sole second round pick would be had by losing their first round tiebreaker with Dallas.

Ironically, the Hawks would trade their third pick (which became Luka Dončić) to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for a protected 2019 first round pick and the fifth pick of the draft, which became Trae Young from the University of Oklahoma. Young was a player that, before the start of the previous season, was projected to be a second round pick. However, Young grew to be a star point guard for the Sooners, to the point where he became the first ever player in NCAA history to lead the league in both points and assists in the same season in his sole season with Oklahoma.